Alonjar:HOWEVER... you cant deny the elephant in the room in regards to gay scout masters/elders. While it sucks to paint innocent gays with such a tainted brush, I can understand the concerns of parents with leaving their children under the supervision of gay adults who actively seek interaction with little boys. Its just... sketchy. The boy scouts of america have an image to keep up, and saying "leave your little boy with gay uncle jimmy!" just leaves a bad taste in most peoples mouths.

The big word you're looking for there is "pedophile." And it has nothing to do with "gay." Those who think it does need to learn other big words, such as "ignorant," "bigot," and "dumbass."

He has a really cool uniform and he's 17 and gay so he won't have any trouble joining an alternative organization. NAMBLA is still recruiting and would take him in an instant. I'm just not sure if they'd bring him back.

Mock26:They are free to go ahead and ban blacks, and brunettes, and non-midgets and anyone else they want to. Again, they are a private organization and are free to do so. The Supreme Court ruled that. Is it retarded? Of course it is. That is why so many members quit after that lawsuit (myself included). That is why so many civic organizations stopped supporting them.

Actually, the civil rights act of '64 said they cannot ban blacks or brunettes. Not sure about the non-midget part though.

IAMTHEINTARWEBS:Babwa Wawa: A "tolerance wall" is some kind of f*&cking copout for an Eagle project. An eagle service project should involve at least 40 person-hours of work.

I agree and so I was thinking "Maybe he didn't get the project approved before he went ahead with it.... Maybe the kid really just didn't earn the rank..."

But then I saw this in the article"But a spokesman for the Boys Scouts, Deron Smith, told NBC News in a statement that Andresen recently "notified his unit leadership and Eagle Scout Counselor that he does not agree to Scouting's principle of 'Duty to God' and does not meet Scouting's membership standard on sexual orientation. "

Maybe the project didn't meet the requirements BUT the statement from the BSA cites that the kid himself notified the scouts that he doesn't qualify for membership in the organization. Sorry kid, they have rules and you didn't follow them. (I don't agree with the rules about the ghey and the god, but those are the rules)

Kid shoulda gamed the system by staying in the closet until he had the eagle then held the biggest, baddest, gayest, boy scout themed coming out party on the planet. AND invited the national news.ORMade his service project a presentation about the negative effects of discrimination on a society.

\ Cub scout leader (non-pedophile type)\\ I always tell folks that my goal in scouting is helping good boys grow into good men.\\\ Good men don't discriminate, neither should the BSA

Debeo Summa Credo:Dalrint: I have seen several examples in this thread that 'pedophile scout masters' make people wary of gay scouts. What? If some guy goes around raping young girls, that doesn't make everyone suddenly suspect all the straight people of being pedophiles. And yet it's perfectly acceptable to make that assumption about gays because of a few pedophiles.

And this is putting aside that pedophilia is *not* the same as being gay, regardless of what gender they commit the crime against.

/I'm tired and annoyed so I hope that made sense.

I'd be more comfortable leaving my daughter with a gay male. If that gay male is a pedophile, he would seek out boys to molest and not my daughter. I'd be much less comfortable leaving my daughter in the care of a straight male.

Likewise, if my son is going on an overnight trip under the supervision of some guy, I'd be much more comfortable if that guy were straight and not gay. Because gay pedophiles molest boys.

And pedophilia isn't equal to gay, you are correct. But if a guy molests a boy, he's gay. By definition.

Weaver95:The Why Not Guy: Weaver95: well, yeah - I mean it's their club house, the BSA sets the rules on this one. If they say 'no gay eagle scouts' then they won't let anyone gay become an eagle scout. you might not like their rules...but you do have to respect the right of the BSA to set their own rules for their own membership.. don't like the rules, don't join the scouts.

The problem with your "logic" is that the Federal and local Governments give all kinds of in-kind support to the Scouts at taxpayer expense, ranging from free meeting spaces in schools to open houses in police and fire departments to the Department of Defense spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to help run the Jamboree.

If the Scouts want to exclude gays, fine. But why should taxpayers subsidize a group that discriminates?

well, for starters - the BSA put in a LOT of time and effort to maintain state and federal game lands and parks. if you want to put a price tag on it, the various scouting organizations put in literally hundreds of thousands of man hours (which translates to a couple billion $$$ a year in free labor) cleaning up parks, assisting in conservation efforts and working on upgrades and standard maintenance at every level of the park system. cut the BSA off from that and wanna guess what happens next? it won't be good for the parks, I can tell you that much. Careful where you go with this sort of logic. it'll bite ya in the ass faster than you realize.

I get that you don't like the BSA policies on homosexuality. hey, that's great. diversity right? But even if you don't like the scouting organization's rules on homosexuality, don't forget that they still manage to do a helluva lot of good for their local communities. everything from conservation to volunteer work. you start cutting the scouts out of society then you'll end up hurting all the people the scouts have helped. you really wanna cut your nose off to spite your face? is that a trade off you're willing to make ...

Oh, whoopee, they helped out nature. Gee, they did nice things for some people. I guess that means they're free to be assholes towards others as a form of reward or something.

I clean empty lots and help at soup kitchens, therefore I'm entitled to discriminate against Asians because they're not the same as me and I feel they're an affront to God and Jesus.

AverageAmericanGuy:WxGuy1: DrPainMD: Yeah, yeah... we get it. Boy ScoutsThe KKK isn't open to gaysblacks. Big deal. Since it's a private organization, it's none of your business. No different from groups that are only open to gaysblacks. I have a great idea: join organizations that you want to join, and don't join those that you don't want to join. Unless you're against people living their lives the way they want, doing what they want to do and associating with who they want. In which case, you're just as bigoted and intolerant as they are.

How does that sound? Sure, I and many support the right of the KKK to exist, we also are enraged when they do something showing blatant bigotry.You don't see why people would be upset about it? As noted by others (and in TFA), this kid started at a very young age, well before he knew he was gay. From the sounds of it, he would have received the Eagle Scout he so deserved by meeting all written requirements if he had been with another troop or in another part of the country. You don't see why people don't think this is right? This is an organization for kids -- why the heck does sexual orientation have anything to do with it? Is the Boy Scouts of America banning homosexual teens or not?

The KKK is open to black members. The problem is that the membership rules are extremely strict and most blacks can't make the cut.

WxGuy1:DrPainMD: Yeah, yeah... we get it. Boy ScoutsThe KKK isn't open to gaysblacks. Big deal. Since it's a private organization, it's none of your business. No different from groups that are only open to gaysblacks. I have a great idea: join organizations that you want to join, and don't join those that you don't want to join. Unless you're against people living their lives the way they want, doing what they want to do and associating with who they want. In which case, you're just as bigoted and intolerant as they are.

How does that sound? Sure, I and many support the right of the KKK to exist, we also are enraged when they do something showing blatant bigotry.You don't see why people would be upset about it? As noted by others (and in TFA), this kid started at a very young age, well before he knew he was gay. From the sounds of it, he would have received the Eagle Scout he so deserved by meeting all written requirements if he had been with another troop or in another part of the country. You don't see why people don't think this is right? This is an organization for kids -- why the heck does sexual orientation have anything to do with it? Is the Boy Scouts of America banning homosexual teens or not?

The KKK is open to black members. The problem is that the membership rules are extremely strict and most blacks can't make the cut.

Everybody just needs to calm down and use a little common sense. The "Boy Scouts Of America" should be allowed to continue business as usual as long as they incorperate a new division of their group, called "The Sissy Boys Of America". Instead of teaching them survival skills they would teach them how to suck d*ck and make samiches.

1. Don't you understand, guys? They have a tradition of excluding black people the gheyz. You can't honestly expect them to change now.2. It's a private organization. Let the people vote with their feet and their dollars. We don't need the government stepping in here.3. Look at all the good they have done in the world!4. Oh great, another thing ruined because one sensitive kid had his feelings hurt. Next you'll be asking that they all get medals just for showing up, right?5. Why don't we just leave it up to the states each troop to decide? My local troop is totally cool with black people the gheyz.

I really want to play the role of scumbag concerned apologist, but I'm too tired to pick a turd tonight. Please just pick one for me and respond to it.